What was the name of John Young's Buffalo wing restaurant?

John Young’s Buffalo wing restaurant was called Wings ’n Things.

Young was an important early Buffalo wing pioneer, operating his restaurant in Buffalo’s East Side during the 1960s. His version of wings was distinctive: he generally served the wings whole, breaded them, and covered them with a spicy sauce influenced by the “mumbo” or “mambo” sauces associated with Black cooking traditions.

The restaurant’s name is sometimes written as “Wings and Things,” “Wings N’ Things,” or “Wings ’n Things.” Those variations refer to the same establishment, so the stored answer is the canonical name expected by the quiz. Young reportedly registered the restaurant’s name before leaving the Buffalo area in 1970.

A common mix-up is crediting only the Anchor Bar with Buffalo’s wing history. Teressa Bellissimo’s Anchor Bar preparation became the nationally recognized Buffalo wing, but Young was serving a different, influential style at roughly the same time. His contributions were formally recognized at the National Buffalo Wing Festival in 2013.